Conservative investor pulls JPMorgan resolution, cites changes addressing 'politicized finance'

 A conservative shareholder has withdrawn a resolution filed for a vote at Tuesday's annual meeting of JPMorgan, according to the investor's representative, who said the move reflects changes the Wall Street bank has made to take more account of diverse viewpoints.

JPMorgan's meeting was to include Proposal 11, a call for the bank to report on how the bank's policies impact employees "based on their religion (including religious views) or political views."

Jerry Bowyer, a fund consultant who represents David Bahnsen, the head of the family trust that filed the resolution, said it was withdrawn in light of several steps the bank has taken that show it pulling back from political tests for customers.

One factor, Bowyer said, was the bank's decision to drop a requirement that merchants using its WePay service not accept payments tied to risks like allegations of racism or sexual harassment.

He also cited a note that JPMorgan included in a recent climate report stating it serves customers "regardless of political, social or religious viewpoints."

And, Bowyer said the family trust appreciated recent comments by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon including critical remarks about proxy advisers in Dimon's annual letter to investors.

"These were all positive signs of them recognizing politicized finance as a problem," Bowyer said.

JPMorgan and other global banks have been under fire from conservative activists who charge they have cut off clients over right-leaning political views, sometimes referred to as "debanking." At the same time other investors have pressed banks to take more account of social and environmental issues. An archived webpage shows that as recently as August, merchants using JPMorgan's WePay service had to agree to not accept payments or use the service in connection with "social risk issues." The bank defined those as "subject to allegation and impacts related to hate groups, systemic racism, sexual harassment and corporate culture."

That language no longer appears on the WePay terms of service.

The Alliance Defending Freedom, which calls itself a Christian law firm, said it first discovered the new language in November. JPMorgan did not immediately say when the language was changed, but said the old language dated to its purchase of WePay, which closed in December 2017.

Asked about the new language promising to serve customers regardless of their viewpoints and other communications that Bowyer said led to the withdrawal of the resolution, a bank representative said the material only reflected longstanding policies.

“While the language may look new, the policies and practices are not. We support clients around the globe and in every state in the U.S., across industries, religions and political affiliation," the representative said via e-mail.

"We do not and would not close an account due to a client's political or religious affiliation, and we’re making sure to articulate that long-held policy wherever and whenever possible," the representative added.

JPMorgan defended its political neutrality after WePay suspended services in 2021 to Defense of Liberty, a Missouri political action committee that planned to host an event for Donald Trump Jr, eldest son of the former U.S. president. JPMorgan said at the time the suspension was a mistake and moved to reinstate service.

Jeremy Tedesco, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom, said the WePay shift was significant.

"These policies give people a foothold to demand banks cancel services. So eliminating that is not a small thing," he said.

Tedesco's group plans to issue on Tuesday a new edition of its “Viewpoint Diversity” index on major U.S. companies, criticizing many for having vague or subjective terms of service. 

https://www.marketscreener.com/quote/stock/JPMORGAN-CHASE-CO-37468997/news/Conservative-investor-pulls-JPMorgan-resolution-cites-changes-addressing-politicized-finance-46782101/

Citius Hits Primary, Secondary Endpoints in Phase 3 Trial of Mino-Lok Antibiotic Lock Solution

 

• Trial achieves statistically significant primary endpoint (p=0.0006)
• Secondary endpoint demonstrates statistically significant overall success of Mino-Lok therapy with a greater percentage of patients retaining their catheters (p=0.0025)

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/citius-pharmaceuticals-achieves-primary-and-secondary-endpoints-in-phase-3-trial-of-mino-lok-antibiotic-lock-solution/

Durect Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Larsucosterol in Alcohol-Associated Hepatitis

 DURECT plans to confirm the efficacy and safety of larsucosterol in a registrational Phase 3 clinical trial 

DURECT Corporation (Nasdaq: DRRX), a late-stage biopharmaceutical company pioneering the development of epigenetic therapies to transform the treatment of serious and life-threatening conditions such as acute organ injury and cancer, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation (BTD) to larsucosterol for the treatment of patients with severe alcohol-associated hepatitis (AH).

"We're pleased with the FDA's decision to grant Breakthrough Therapy designation to larsucosterol, as it further recognizes its potential to save the lives of AH patients," said James E. Brown, D.V.M., President and CEO of DURECT. "AH has a high mortality rate and no currently approved treatments, so there is a great need for a safe and effective therapy. We continue to finalize the design of our planned registrational Phase 3 trial for larsucosterol, incorporating the recent FDA feedback and promising data from our completed Phase 2b AHFIRM trial. We look forward to releasing additional clinical data on larsucosterol and potentially bringing this therapy to patients as soon as possible."

The BTD is supported by clinical evidence from the Phase 2b AHFIRM trial, a double-blind, placebo-controlled, international, multi-center study, which evaluated the safety and efficacy of larsucosterol as a treatment for patients with severe AH. Topline data from the study were announced in 2023, and further details will be shared in a late-breaking oral presentation at the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Congress 2024 on June 8, 2024 in Milan, Italy.

https://www.biospace.com/article/releases/durect-corporation-receives-fda-breakthrough-therapy-designation-for-larsucosterol-in-alcohol-associated-hepatitis/

Lilly Inks Potential $1.1B Radiopharma Deal with Aktis Oncology

 Aktis Oncology announced Tuesday a collaboration with Eli Lilly for targeted anticancer radiopharmaceuticals. The Boston-based biotech will receive $60 million cash upfront with additional milestone payments of up to $1.1 billion and royalties on sales.  

Leveraging the biotech’s miniprotein technology platform, Lilly will take worldwide rights to both radiopharma therapeutics and diagnostic products of their choice discovered by Aktis on a “defined set of targets” selected by the drugmaker.  

Aktis’ therapies harness the potency of alpha-emitting particles for precision cancer targeting, while minimizing treatment side effects for a range of solid tumor cancers. Its lead program is in urothelial and other Nectin-4-associated cancers. 

“This collaboration with Aktis Oncology builds upon our growing radiopharmaceutical capabilities and provides access to an exciting and innovative technology for creating important and differentiated radiopharmaceuticals,” Jacob Van Naarden, president of Lilly Oncology, said in a statement. 

Lilly is also making an undisclosed equity investment in Aktis. The deal builds on previous investments in radiopharma. Lilly dropped $1.4 billion to acquire Point Biopharma in October 2023.  

At the time, Van Naarden said it was the “beginning of our investment in developing multiple meaningful radioligand medicines for hard-to-treat cancers.” The acquisition included Point’s lead asset, PNT2002, which targets the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) and is in a Phase III trial for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer who had progressed after hormonal treatment. 

The space has been heating up with Big Pharma deals across the board. Bristol Myers Squibb purchased RayzeBio at the end of 2023 for $4.1 billion.  AstraZeneca picked up Fusion Pharmaceuticals in March 2024 for its radiopharma pipeline in a deal worth around $2 billion.  

Both current approved radiopharmaceuticals on the market came from Novartis acquisitions—Pluvicto for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancers and Lutathera for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors. Earlier this month, Novartis announced a $1 billion buyout of Mariana Oncology on the heels of a deal expansion with PeptiDream in April worth potentially over $2.7 billion.  

https://www.biospace.com/article/lilly-inks-potential-1-1b-radiopharma-deal-with-aktis-oncology-/

Southern US Border Sees 143% Jump In Imported Malaria: CDC

 by Naveen Athrappully via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

Imported malaria cases in three southern border jurisdictions more than doubled in 2023 from the year prior, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“During January–December 2023, a total of 68 imported malaria cases were identified from reportable disease surveillance systems in Pima, Arizona (18), San Diego, California (27), and El Paso, Texas (23),” the CDC said in a May 9 report.

This is 143 percent higher than the 28 cases in 2022 when there were three in Pima, 12 in San Diego, and 13 in El Paso.

“Because malaria case counts were higher than expected, enhanced case investigations were initiated,” said the agency.

The CDC found that 15 out of 68 cases occurred among U.S. residents. Two were found in newly arrived refugees and two among travelers with unknown immigration status. The majority, 49 cases, were identified among “other newly arrived migrants,” including asylum seekers.

Imported malaria cases in 2023 increased correspondingly to the entry of asylum seekers and other “migrants” into the United States via the southern land border, the CDC said.

The agency advised healthcare professionals to “obtain a complete travel history, consider malaria among symptomatic patients with recent travel through areas where malaria is endemic, and initiate prompt testing and, if indicated, treatment.”

Before arriving in the United States, the U.S. residents and refugees had traveled through other nations infected with the disease.

“Among the 49 other newly arrived migrants, 46 (94 percent) had traveled through one or more countries with endemic malaria.”

Out of the 68 cases, 63 were hospitalized, with almost a third experiencing severe disease. The agency noted that severe malaria was more common among “other newly arrived migrants” than among American residents. No deaths have been reported.

“Approximately 2,000 malaria cases are imported into the United States annually, mostly among U.S. residents with recent travel to areas with endemic malaria.”

Malaria used to be a leading cause of death in the United States before being eradicated in the 1950s.

Last June, five cases of malaria infection on U.S. soil were reported—four in Florida and one in Texas. This was the first local spread of the infectious disease in two decades.

Dr. Eric Cioe-Pena, emergency medicine physician at Staten Island University Hospital and vice president of Global Health, told The Epoch Times last year that “malaria is a serious disease that can be fatal, and its presence within the U.S. is a cause for concern.”

He attributed the spread in the country to the “importation of the disease by travelers returning from regions where malaria is prevalent.”

According to data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), patrol agents encountered 2.47 million illegal immigrants at the southwest land border in fiscal 2023, up from 1.73 million in fiscal 2021.

“While it’s possible for malaria to become endemic again (in America), it’s too early to make definitive predictions,” Dr. Cioe-Pena stated.

“Nevertheless, the situation serves as a reminder of the need for continuous vigilance against infectious diseases, even those considered eradicated, and for ongoing investments in public health infrastructure.”

Tuberculosis Reported

In addition to malaria, illegal aliens have brought other illnesses into the United States. Last year, a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) revealed that thousands of illegal immigrant children with tuberculosis were released from government custody.

The CDC states that people with tuberculosis are infectious and can transmit it. In the report, Aurora Miranda-Maese, an HHS official, said that if tuberculosis were to become active, it would become “a threat to both the individual’s and the public’s health.”

Last month, officials at Chicago’s Health Department said a few cases of tuberculosis were identified among recently arrived illegal immigrants. The agency insisted there was no cause for concern.

In an April 3 X post, Chicago Alderman Raymond Lopez said he had warned the city for months about such a situation but that no action was taken due to “performative politics & hurt feelings.”

“Anyone who demanded action to protect our residents was called racist, xenophobic, and anti-immigrant by fringe politicians,“ he wrote. ”And now here we are: measles, now tuberculosis both ‘confirmed’ in Chicago. Shame on every mouthpiece that worked so hard to keep this secret.

“Everyday Chicagoans MUST demand @ChicagosMayor & his cronies take this seriously, demand American immunization standards for all asylum seekers & their children within @ChiPubSchools , and stop muting the truth.”

Malaria Infection and Symptoms

Malaria is a disease caused by a parasite carried by Anopheles mosquitoes. If the mosquitoes bite a person with malaria, the individual can become infected.

According to CDC, the “risk of malaria in the United States is very low. People do not spread malaria to other people like the common cold or the flu.”

Symptoms range from very mild illness to death. Early symptoms include fever and flu-like illness: chills, headache, muscle aches, and tiredness, plus nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

If left untreated, the condition can become severe. Severe malaria can cause kidney failure, mental confusion, seizures, and coma.

CDC recommends that people see a healthcare provider “as soon as possible” if they experience any symptoms of malaria or traveled to a region where the illness is known to occur.

Once the disease is confirmed, prescription drugs are given to treat and cure the illness.

The type of drugs and the length of the treatment depend on the type of malaria infecting a person, the geographical location where the person was infected, and how sick the individual was when they started treatment. Age and pregnancy are other key factors when considering treatment.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), there were an estimated 249 million malaria cases in 2022 globally and 608,000 deaths from the disease.

The WHO African Region accounted for 94 percent of malaria cases and 95 percent of deaths. Children under the age of five years made up roughly 80 percent of all deaths in the region.

Meanwhile, the CDC urges travelers from the United States to exercise caution when visiting nations prone to malaria.

The agency maintains a webpage detailing malaria risk across countries.

https://www.zerohedge.com/medical/southern-us-border-sees-143-percent-jump-imported-malaria-cdc

During 'War Drill', Greek Navy Chases Russian Tankers Out Of Oil Transfer Hotspot

 The Greek Navy has established a temporary obstacle in the Laconian Gulf, approximately 110 miles southwest of Athens, to disrupt a 'floating oil base' used by Russian tankers for ship-to-ship transfers of crude oil and related products. These products are then loaded onto other tankers and transported to Asia. This action is part of the West's strategy to curtail Moscow's ability to supply energy to customers evading Western sanctions, thereby limiting funding for the special operation in Ukraine. 

Bloomberg reported that the Greek Navy has "re-issued a notice that it would carry out exercises" in the Laconian Gulf area. These previously announced exercises have been extended through June 3. Each notice forces vessels in the region to exit under maritime law. 

This month though, the Greek Navy started carrying out exercises in the area in a bid to halt an activity that helps Moscow's export machine to keep functioning. -BBG

Here's a map of where the military exercises will be held. 

"There is a gap between the Laconian Gulf and the newly-added area where a lot of the tankers are now clustered," Bloomberg noted. 

Greek officials have not publicly stated they are using military exercises against Russia's commercial tanker fleet to deter STS transfers of crude and related products in the sheltered Laconian Gulf area. 

We reported earlier this month that the website TankerTrackers reported tankers conducting STS transferred abruptly left the Laconian Gulf for "reasons that were unknown."

STS Russian transfers from the Laconian Gulf have ended up thousands of miles away in Asia. However, according to the Black Sea Group, some of it ended up at European ports because of Brussels' poor sanction management: 

"68% of the oil was brought to the Laconian Gulf in Greece for transshipment, while the rest was directly exported to the EU ports amid poor sanctions management," researcher Bohdan Ben wrote in a note. 

In a separate Bloomberg report, they noted STS transfers of Russian crude could shift to the Red Sea:

"There are other signs of change in how Russian oil is moving. One tanker also flipped a cargo of crude onto another vessel in the Red Sea last month. The Panta Rei 1 transfered its cargo onto the Odysseus, which then transported its consignment to India. That's the first ever switch observed in that location in ship tracking data compiled by Bloomberg." 

This is a new development in how the West fights Moscow. What could possibly go wrong? 

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/greek-war-drills-against-russian-oil-tankers-oil-transfer-hotspot

Biden Drains Entire Northeast Gasoline Reserve To Lower Gas Prices As Trails Trump By Double Digits

 Back in March, when reading the mammoth, 1050-page bill that was meant to avert government shutdown, but was yet another pork filled free-for-all bonanza authorizing $1.7 trillion in in discretionary spending, we stumbled upon something that was truly shocking: after Biden singlehandedly drained half of the US strategic petroleum reserve to avoid obliteration for Democrats in the 2022 midterm elections, Congress has snuck in a provision that would sell off and shutter the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve, a move that while perhaps keeps gas prices lower for a day or two, would also leave the entire continental northeast defenseless to any true environmental catastrophe or shock. We were so dismayed by the inclusion of this particular text, we wondered if it hadn't been put there solely for the benefit of America's enemies...

... because surely nobody in their right mind, not even the illegitimate senile occupant of the White House, would ever pursue such short-term gains at the expense of potentially disastrous long-term consequences to the entire nation.

We were wrong: earlier today, just two months after the bill was signed by Biden into law, the panicking administration announced that it would sell the nearly 1 million barrels of gasoline in the US managed stockpile in northeastern states, the Department of Energy said, effectively closing the reserve.

The department created the Northeast Gasoline Supply Reserve (NGSR) in 2014 after Superstorm Sandy left motorists scrambling for fuel. But, according to some megabrains hoping to justify the dumping of gas so its price drops for a few weeks ahead of the summer and avoid even more anger aimed at the president, storing refined fuel is costlier than storing crude oil, so closing the reserve was included in U.S funding legislation signed by President Joe Biden in March.

Bids to buy the gasoline located at the two NGSR storage sites in Port Reading, NJ (900,000 bbl) and South Portland, ME (98,824 bbl), are due on May 28 and the Treasury Department's general funds gets proceeds from the sale. Incidentally, the proceeds from the reserve liquidation - which will amount to roughly $125 million gross (and far less net) - is roughly how much the government spends every 15 minutes!

So is it better to have a gasoline reserve for unexpected events, or to fund a quarter hour of US government's spending? Don't answer that. Of course, the answer is neither - the whole point of selling the gasoline is to depress prices at the pump if only for a few days to help Americans forget about the great inflationary nightmare they have been in for the past 3 years.

The volumes will be allocated in quantities of 100,000 barrels with each barrel containing 42 gallons, the department said and said it would require that fuel is transferred or delivered no later than June 30. That will ensure the gasoline can flow into local retailers ahead of the Fourth of July holiday and that it will be sold at competitive prices. Translation: Biden just drained the Northeast strategic gasoline reserve to push gas lower by a few cents on July 4.

For context, gas prices at the pump this Memorial Day will be the second most expensive in a decade - dramatically above the ten-year average of $2.91...

“By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the ... northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most,” Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in a release.

“The Biden-Harris administration is laser-focused on lowering prices at the pump for American families, especially as drivers hit the road for summer driving season,″ Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said in the statement. “By strategically releasing this reserve in between Memorial Day and July 4th, we are ensuring sufficient supply flows to the tri-state (area) and Northeast at a time hardworking Americans need it the most.”

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said release of gas from the Northeast reserve builds on actions by President Joe Biden, a Democrat, “to lower gas and energy costs — including historic releases from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and the largest-ever investment in clean energy.″

Biden significantly drained the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, dropping the stockpile to its lowest level since the 1980s after selling about 280 million barrels to keep prices low. The election year move helped stabilize gasoline prices that had been rising in the wake of the war in Europe but drew complaints from Republicans, and frankly anyone with half a brain, that the Democratic president was playing politics with a reserve meant for national emergencies.

The Biden administration has since very theatrically begun refilling the oil reserve, which had more than 364 million barrels of crude oil as of last month, by purchasing a couple million barrels every other month or so, setting it on pace for refilling some time in the 2100s.

“While congressional Republicans fight to preserve tax breaks for Big Oil at the expense of hardworking families, President Biden is advancing a more secure, affordable, and clean energy future to lower utility bills while record American energy production helps meet our immediate needs,” Jean-Pierre said.

As for the real reason behind the latest myopic decision by the Biden admin, today we learned that Trump’s lead over Biden has widened to 13pp in the betting market, the largest difference since mid-March. Meanwhile, political event prediction website PredictIt places higher betting odds on Trump than Biden for the first time since March.

Trump is also leading in the latest polls of all swing states.

Trump is leading by 2% in the latest polls in Pennsylvania. If Biden loses Pennsylvania but wins Wisconsin and Michigan, he then at least needs to win one state from Georgia and North Carolina in addition to one state from Arizona and Nevada to secure a second term.

Meanwhile, closing arguments in Trump's "hush money" case in New York are set to being on May 28. If the jury finds Trump guilty, it is possible for the former president to receive prison time, and judging by how weaponized the "legal system" of the current fascist regime has become, we would not be surprised if Biden goes there.

https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/biden-drains-entire-northeast-gasoline-reserve-bid-lower-gas-prices-he-trails-trump-double